Quotes of the day

posted at 10:53 pm on May 29, 2012 by Allahpundit

It was supposed to be a day of triumph for Mitt Romney, when he would at last formally claim the Republican presidential nomination with a victory in the Texas primary. And Mr. Romney was to focus attention on an aggressive new attack on President Obama, highlighting the White House’s role in backing failed companies like Solyndra.

With Mr. Trump, the Romney campaign privately maintains an attitude of quiet exasperation and good-natured eye-rolling, but it is reluctant to criticize him publicly. He is a prolific fund-raiser and willing surrogate whose fame and following can marshal both top-dollar and small-money donors…

Many Republicans have questioned whether Mr. Trump is worth the headache. “I’ve always thought Romney would gain a lot more mileage by stiff-arming Trump,” said Mark McKinnon, a Republican strategist. “I think who Romney stands with says a lot about what he’ll stand for. Associating with Trump seems to only reinforce the narrative on Romney that Team Obama wants to push. Which is that Romney is an out-of-touch rich guy without any real core, which means he’ll associate with anyone if he thinks it will further his ambition.”

By May 1967, U.S. congressman Emmanuel Celler, a Democrat who chaired the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, was expressing “serious doubts” about George Romney’s eligibility…

“I am a natural born citizen. My parents were American citizens. I was a citizen at birth,” he said, according to a typewritten statement found in his archives…

In a paper in November aimed at clarifying presidential eligibility, the Congressional Research Service declared that the practical, legal meaning of “natural born citizen” would “most likely include” not only anyone born on U.S. soil but anyone born overseas of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen.

“Other people may believe that he was born somewhere else and still kills jobs, but that’s an argument over background,” said Gingrich, speaking in the lobby of the Trump International Hotel where he will attend a fundraiser expected to raise more than $2 million for Romney’s campaign.

“I’m happy to say I believe he was born in Hawaii,” Gingrich said.

***

As Romney continued to attack the president as “hostile” to business, he veered into new territory, passing along the story of a restaurant owner he met with in a closed-door roundtable who suggested adding a new provision to the constitutional requirements of the presidency: time in business.

“I’d like to have a provision in the Constitution that in addition to the age of the president and the citizenship of the president and the birthplace of the president being set by the Constitution, I’d like it also to say that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he could become President of the United States,” Romney quoted the restauranteur as saying. “You see then he or she would understand that the policies they’re putting in place have to encourage small business, make it easier for business to grow.”

Trump is far from a conservative icon, but his brash, tough-talking style drew enough GOP support that he briefly led the presidential primary field last year. That popularity isn’t lost on the Romney campaign which, eager to attract more grassroots support, is tempting small-dollar contributors with an offer to have dinner with him and the business magnate. The Republican rank-and-file might not quite be as excited about the prospect for a dinner-date with Romney alone…

That political dilemma for Romney is one that could repeat itself through Election Day. Next week, it could mean standing with evangelical leaders to denounce Planned Parenthood’s federal funding. In a month, he might have to deliver a speech to fiscal hawks touting the virtues of Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare proposal. And before Election Day, he could visit the country’s border Arizona to reaffirm support for his hardline immigration agenda.

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

Matter of fact, Capitalist Hog, the more research I do on you the less I like you. I certainly won’t trust your judgement on anything. You may well be a troll for all I know. Go back and read some of your stuff and let me know what you think.

Bmore on May 30, 2012 at 12:24 AM

Unfortunately, I really don’t have the time to go back and read a bunch my own comments. You seem to have that covered. So why don’t you tell me what you think. You’re obviously angling for that, why wait?

Fortunately, you are a free man. You want to waste time researching my comments? Suit yourself. One would think that the Worthing/Patterico hullabaloo would dissuade such creepy activity. I guess not.

No problem. You seem to want and attach some responsibility to another commenters comment. Frankly I hadn’t seen the offending comment until it was offered up by the troll. Then you appear and elect to chastise me. I always go back and research a commenter I am unfamiliar with. Nothing as you suggest is creepy about it. I like to know who I am dealing with. Now pertaining to bannings. I always give a complete five minute time in which a commenter can walk back a comment which is a bannable offense. Just incase they made a rash decision. It happens to the best of them.
Now, as far as my communications to and with you. This is the last. I don’t like or trust you. Anyone who would use the Patterico incident as a point against me on this board is as you suggest a creep. You see I don’t do much name calling of other commenters. You do. So do us both a favor and avoid me. I will in turn avoid you.

“I’d like it also to say that the president has to spend at least three years working in business before he could become President of the United States,” is a good meme as long as we also include a requirement that those three years be at least 10 years before the candidate runs for office and after he completed his schooling.

Then we won’t find ourselves hiring Jeffrey Immelt sort of characters to be POTUS right out of their corporate CEO jobs. The corporate connections should be somewhat time diluted for best results.